Know Your Stats

Ahhh, College Football. You make the Fall that much more complete. Pumpkins, hay rides, and crisp air aside, the season wouldn't be what it is for me without tailgates, cheering, and men throwing a ball around on a field while attempting to not get sacked.

Picture: me and my brother, taking our mandatory "sibling shot" at the GT Home Opener this Fall from our awesome new front-row upper deck seats :)

I am a die-hard Georgia Tech fan, and also root for Notre Dame, Clemson, and Auburn. However, I appreciate most college football games, especially when it's great football being played (and even more so when my Jackets apparently do not show up for games like the one played on Saturday in Kansas, sigh).

That would explain why on Saturday evening, I was sitting there with my Auburn-grad man watching, of all teams, hated-Alabama whoop up on Penn State. This season, #1 Alabama is playing great ball, and despite hating them because they represent all that is evil in the Auburn football world, 'Bama was actually pretty fun to watch. Only in my dreams could GT pass and catch some of the things that the Crimson Tide was pulling out. (Note: I still did not enjoy hearing the twangy "Roll Tide" from the fans over the announcer, ugh)

While watching the ticker for the other score updates, however, I noticed ESPN using some new-to-me acronyms. The first was FBS. Please forgive me football lords, but I know BCS vs. DI and DII etc. but FBS? That one was new. As was FCS. What do these mean?! I can't be a sporty-sport girl and not know what some of these seemingly common acronyms mean.

A quick search on my BBerry later, and I land on Stilletto Sports: A Girl's Guide to College Football. How appropriate!

I won't re-post her entire thing here, but definitely check out the full post for her witty banter and detail, as she does a great job with the summary without making me feel stupid for not knowing my sports acronyms. Here are the highlights:

* There are three divisions in college football: DI, DII,  DII
* Within each division, there are conferences: ACC, SEC, Big East, etc.
* But within that structure, there are also two subdivisions: the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and Football Championship Subdivision (FCS)
* FBS: they operate a bowl-structure. Includes all the major conferences, plus mid-level (WAC, Conference USA, etc.) and independents (go Notre Dame!)
* FCS: Can't afford the bowls, so they do 16-game championship playoff instead. Includes Ivy League, Big South teams like Gardener-Webb and Coastal Carolina, and others.
* FBS big conferences = BCS conferences

Even a football gal like myself can get confused with the structure and acronyms sometimes, so hopefully you find her info helpful, too. I feel better prepared for this weekend's upcoming games. Hopefully the Jackets do too, as there is really no excuse for not winning our way back into the Top 25 spot I think we deserve!

Go Tech!